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Menum

14 Techie Things I Am Done Complaining About | You Should Too

I am fed up with people who bitch about technology and the social web all day long. People who complain about everything. And you know who I am talking about.

Me. [and if you thought I was talking about you, you're probably right too...]

But I am done. I am done complaining. Because I am realizing how great these things actually are, and while I appreciate that most of them are free, they are also making me a better businessman and a more intrepid marketer.

So, join me in appreciating these fine things. In fact, I am going to celebrate these every day. And thank my lucky stars that tools like this exist to help entrepreneurs like me…

1. I will no longer complain that Gmail is sometimes slow to send and receive emails. Come on, it is a “free” email service, that indexes emails and allows me to tag and easily find them when I need them. Even if the email dates from 14 months ago…

2. I will stop complaining that it takes YouTube a while to process videos. I mean, how dare they host my High Definition videos for free and provide another search engine where people can search and find information on me and my business…

3. I will stop whining that Vimeo takes 30 to 45 minutes to upload and process my “free” video uploads.

4. I will stop fussing about dropped cell calls. I can make calls, which sound pretty damn good, from my bed, from my car, from my radio studio, from the airport, etc… In fact, there is only one spot in all of Metro Atlanta where there is a vortex in the universe and I drop calls. But only one.

5. I will stop complaining that Google Docs isn’t 100% perfect. The fact that I virtually run my business using Google Docs for “free” notwithstanding…

6. And speaking of Google, I love seeing people fuss about Google Wave. Every day. ["too slow" is what I hear most] In fact, I hope they stop using it. Because I will have an unfair competitive advantage…

7. I will stop complaining that it takes FlipShare a long time to download my video clips, and an even longer time to process the “movies” that I make. I mean, really, I can produce a High Definition video clip, from a hand-held camera, in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee…

8. I will stop complaining that it takes GoDaddy a few minutes to accept changes to my Thesis WordPress websites. I mean, can you believe it takes 3 minutes for the changes to be reflected, instead of instantly?

9. I will stop complaining that Twitter sometimes has a system overload. I mean, it is quite frustrating that my ability to communicate with the entire world – for “free” – requires me to wait for sometimes almost 10 seconds…

10. And for those rare times when Twitter goes down? Don’t whine about it. Go create your own social network…

11. How dare Facebook have privacy issues. I mean, who do they think they are that I can connect – on a personal level – for “free” – with over 400 million people? The nerve….

12. I will stop fussing about my Blackberry, and how it occasionally operates very slowly and lethargically. Never mind that it has more computing power than Apollo 11, and that I can almost entirely run my business from this little thing…

13. I will stop complaining about how my GPS device, whether I am using my TomTom or my Blackberry, sometimes loses the satellite for a few minutes. I was much much happier when I had to pull over and unfold the map. That was so much more fun…

14. I will stop complaining about how Foursquare sometimes doesn’t let me “check-in” somewhere. You know…all these free social web apps are just getting more and more out of control… I just hope I don’t win the “whiner” badge…

I saw Chris Brogan give a presentation where he shared a story about his Trust Agents co-author Julien Smith, where Brogan said that whenever Julien meets a blogger, he greets them with “So what do you complain about?”

Julien is right. Us bloggers do complain about a lot of stuff. Even me. [I like to think that in my "complaining" I am trying to educate, trying to serve, trying to enlighten folks... but, you know...]

And I am not suggesting that our “reporting” isn’t important, and necessary. But I think we oftentimes go over the top. Sure, when a brand delivers poor service, for something you are paying good money for, I suppose it is fair to tell that story.

But to complain about technology that does amazing things – to complain about social networks that do amazing things AND are free – to complain about the speed of things that weren’t even imaginable just a few years ago – is getting sillier and sillier. And I have been just as guilty as the next person…

So from here on out, I am celebrating these tools. And if you ever catch me fussin’? Call me on it…

Great list! I wanna' be called on griping about those things as well. Let's also add in a few more mundane things like the car needs repair or the A/C is on the fritz or my beer's a bit too warm or the traffic is too heavy…

By the way, would if be OK to make an exception for Windows Vista? I think I might lose my mind if I can't complain about that.

TY

tschnick

Yes, Todd. I will give you a pass on Vista. There is a reason I have stayed with XP. And there is a reason I am about to make the jump to a Macbook Pro.

But I am NOT complaining!

thebaumgroup

Knew there were reasons for our “engaging online relationship” {XP~~~>Macbook Pro} Not complaining

sara davis

Thank you for the reminder. I think sometimes we are frustrated vaguely about something else. Perhaps its family, spouse, missed business opportunity, oil spills, whatever…but we haven't taken the time to figure out whats really eating us and and the most immediate answer to our nagging frustration is technology in front of us.

tschnick

Have you made the switch?

tschnick

Yeah, I think you are absolutely right. I find that the worse day I am having, the more frustrated I get with technology. You are correct – we must solve the core issue…

thebaumgroup

Not yet… been thinking about the alternative to sitting in front of the PC Much data on the XP PC… considering and wondering how and what role MP is to play with all… Any thoughts???

Alicia Arenas (@Alicia Sanera)

Pure awesomeness Todd. Great post. But I have to say, I will continue to complain about Microsoft – until I get a MAC that is!

tschnick

Wow. Thanks Alicia. I sure do appreciate that…

And yeah, Microsoft appears to be a common theme in the comments…

Look forward to joining the MAC caucus!

http://www.projectauthenticity.com Robyn

Great post Todd you are on fire! I have made it a point on my blogs not to complain and some days are harder than others. But I believe that the only way to change things is to be positive, try and view situations, products, people thru a positive lens. I think Ghandi said it best: Be the change you wish to see in the world. Kinda hard to change things when all you are doing is complaining!

tschnick

Yeah, thanks Robyn. The funny thing is, sometimes you have to “complain” to educate people, you know? I think there is a fine line between whining, and educating. I am committed to being better skilled at finding that line!